Fibre-contacting elements used in processing textile fibres, particularly in spinning



Jan. 10, 1956 M- BALKlN ET AL 2,729,860

FIBRE-CONTACTING ELEMENTS USED IN PROCESSING TEXTILE EIBRES, PARTICULARLY IN SPINNING Filed May 7, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS:

MARK EALKIN* DENYs G Tuln/ER BY S2M/wa;

Jan. 10, 1956 M. BALKIN ET Al. 2,729,860

FIBRE-CONTACTING ELEMENTS USED IN PROCESSING TEXTILE FIBRES, PARTICULARLY IN SPINNING Filed May 7, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MARK BAL/m1,@r Denys @TURNER United States Patent O Mark Balkin and Denys Grahame Turner, Newcastleupon-Tyne, England, assignors to George Angus and Company Limited, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England Application May 7, 1952, Serial No. 286,492

4 Claims. (Cl. 19143) This invention relates to fibre-contacting elements used in processing textile fibres and especially nbre-drafting elements used in spinning, namely the coverings of rollers used in spinning textile fibres, and known as roller cots and spinning cots, and draft aprons used in spinning textile fibres.

Roller coverings used in spinning textile fibres are mounted on cylindrical metal spindles and each runs in Contact with a fluted metal roller. Textile fibres are engaged between the two rollers, and are drawn by passing therefrom into engagement by a similar pair of rollers rotating at a higher peripheral speed.

A draft apron is an endless belt or tape, between an opposed pair of which, led around opposed rollers, fibres are nipped and supported in their passage towards a pair of drafting rollers rotating at a greater surface speed than that of the drafting aprons.

Although the invention is mainly concerned with fibredrafting elements used in spinning, it is also applicable to other libre-contacted elements used in processing fibres, such as condenser tapes and condenser rubbers.

Modern roller cots are made from oil-resistant synthetic rubbers such as neoprene, Thickol (registered trademark) and copolymers of butadiene and acrylic nitrile. The latter copolymers are especially suitable and compositions made from them are resistant to oil and are very resistant to abrasion. Such compositions can be made into roller cots, for instance by extrusion.

Although synthetic rubber roller cots are now widely used and give reasonably satisfactory results in service, they are still not completely satisfactory. In` some cases, poor results are obtained. Also, although the synthetic rubber roller cot is itself uniform and consistent, varying results are obtained when drafting and spinning fibres, this being due to the different conditions, for instance of temperature and humidity that occur in the textile mills.

Also varying results are obtained with different textile fibres which may be cotton, or wool, or the synthetic fibres such as rayon and nylon.

The main disadvantage is that known as licking During the drafting or spinning of thefibres, instead of all the fibres passing completely and uniformly through the nip between the roller cot and the co-acting metal roller, and leaving the roller cot clean, fibres often detach themselves and cling to the roller cot and are carried around therewith. This causes a thin place in the yarn or the bundle of fibres leaving the nip. It leads very frequently to a rupture of the yarn or bundle of fibres, which is known as an end-break. Further, such de tached fibres may later re-attach themselves to the line of fibres passing forward, causing a thick place and so yielding uneven yarn.

A further disadvantage is that when an end-break occurs the fibres or yarn are often carried up and round the roller cot causing a roller lap which may lead to damage to the roller cot. It is also a great inconvenience since delays occur whilst the entangled fibres are removed.

lCC

We have made prolonged tests to discover the cause of these defects and to prevent them. Correct conditions of temperature and humidity are important and provide some assistance in obtaining improved results. Such atmospheric conditions for the best results are different for the different fibres. In the case of wool, for example, in worsted spinning, if the humidity is too low, licking with the associated disadvantages can readily occur with synthetic rubber roller cots. it becomes necessary, therefore, to maintain a suitable high and consistent humidity if reasonably satisfactory results are to be obtained. The installation of suitable equipment to control the temperature and humidity is a very expensive matter and even therewith, it is impossible to maintain a perfectly uniform and non-varying atmospheric condition at ali essential points in a spinning room.

It is known to add various chemicals to natural and synthetic fibres in order to improve processing and spinning. Such chemicals are believed to be useful for a variety of reasons. For instance they may act as lubricants, or softeners, or hygroscopic agents, or to increase the electrical conductivity of the fibres and so help to prevent the accumulation of static charges. Many of these chemicals are of the type known as surface active agents which are said to be useful in that they prevent the generation or accumulation of static electricity.

Surface active agents are well known substances with a wide range of uses, particularly as detergents, wetting agents, stabilizers and emulsifiers. They have been used in quantities up to 2% of the solid rubber content as wetting, dispersing and foaming agents in latex.

The addition of such chemicals to fibres is often associated with disadvantages such as causing the corrosion of metal parts which the fibres contact, or cause staining of the fibres. Usually these chemicals are later removed from the fibres by scouring or laundering so that they thereafter serve no useful purpose.

We have now discovered that by the addition of surface active agents as defined hereinafter in suitable proportions to the oil-resistant synthetic rubber composing the roller cot, a considerable improvement is obtained in resistance to licking which is substantially completely eliminated and consequently the associated disadvantages are prevented. When the roller cot contains such surface active agents, we have found that it is often unnecessary to add them to the fibres which further prevents the disadvantages mentioned above.

The amount of a surface active agent which will give a useful anti-licking result cannot be stated precisely because requirements differ. Our experiments show that `quantities below two parts by weight to one hundred parts by weight of the oil-resistant synthetic rubber are not likely to be of value, five parts and upwards give progressively better results, whilst for most practical purposes probably at least ten parts are necessary. For the spinning cots we have made the preferred proportion is twenty parts of the surface active agent.

The invention therefore consists in a fibre-contacting element for use in processing textile fibres and composed of an oil-resistant synthetic rubber composition containing as a permanent ingredient, in the proportion of at least two parts by weight to one hundred parts by weight of synthetic rubber, a surface active agent having the property of imparting in such proportion an anti-licking character to the element. A group of surface active agents having this property is defined later in the spectication.

We have discovered that yarns spun with our roller cots containing surface active agents are stronger and more regular than yarn spun with ordinary roller cots. The yarn also wraps more compactly on. the bobbin and allows a greater length to be wrapped into a package of fixed dimensions. We have also discovered that the improved performance of our roller cots containing surface active agents permits fibre-drafting and spinning to be carried out at considerably lower humidities than is otherwise necessary, resulting in a considerable saving in power needed to maintain the higher humidities. The improved performance of our roller cots is such that they are not so susceptible to variations in humidity so that exact control of humidity is not so important.

The class of materials known as surface active agents which, when incorporated into the roller cot, produces the advantages described above may be generally defined as follows: They are substances which alter the surface energy of their solvents to an extreme degree even when present in very low concentration. They are all organic, and are usually characterised by a molecular structure which is essentially linear, that is to say considerably longer than wide. One end of the linear structure is composed of radicals which are compatible with the Solvent system, and the opposite end of incompatible radicals.

We have found that the commercially available surface active agents known by the trademarks V. O. S. anti-static, Lissapol NX and Empilan A which are ethylene oxide condensation products and are very suitable surface active agents for adding to an oil-resistant synthetic rubber composed of a butadiene acrylic nitrile copolymer, for making a non-licking roller cot.

Other examples of suitable surface active agents are condensation products of ethylene oxide with phenols or alcohols, certain esters and salts of long-chain fatty acids and their derivatives, and salts of nitrogen compounds containing long-chain radicals. Commercial products of these types are available under the trademarks: Lubrol W which is a fatty-alcohol-ethylene oxide condensation product; Nonex 39 which is a polyethylene glycol monolaurate; Gernex G which is a salt of a high molecular fatty amide compound; Fixanol C which is a cetyl pyridinium bromide; Lissolamine and Cetavlon which are both cetyl` trimethyl ammonium bromides.

Also triethanolamine mono-oleic ester is a suitable surface active agent.

All the surface active agents quoted or described in the preceding paragraphs are comprised by a group defined as follows:` salts of carboxylic acids, sulphuric esters andl sulphonic acids; amine salts and quaternary ammonium compounds; and reaction products lof phenols, alcohols or higher fatty acids with ethylene or propylene oxides; all the foregoing containing long-chain hydrophobic molecular groups. y

We have found that the surface active agent can be added to the. synthetic rubber in the normal course of mixing, for instance on two-roll mills. The usual compounding ingredients. are also incorporated, such as fillers (forV instance carbon black or clay), sulphur, antioXi dants and vulcanisiug accelerators. We have found that surface active agents can be blended with the synthetic rubber composition and can act as softeners in the mix.

The surface active agents may vary in their eciency in preventing licking so that the amount added to the synthetic rubber can be varied both to suit the eiciency of the surface active agent and depending on other factors such as the fibres to be processed. For instance, with a roller cot mix made from a butadiene acrylic nitrile copolymer, we have had very good results where twenty parts by weight of surface active agent have been incorporatedV to one hundred parts by weight of the copolymer. If desired, more or less than this proportion of surfaceactive agent can be used, but quantities of less than two parts by weight to one hundred parts by weight of the copolymer do not produce any useful anti-licking effect. Also suitable mixtures of surface active agents can be incorporated. After compounding, the drafting element, namely draft apron or spinning cot, is made in the usual way by mandrel wrapping, extruding or moulding,y and vulcanised.

We are not altogether clear as to why these surface active agents give such considerable improvements. We

believe that the surface active agent is oriented at the surface of the roller cot and so changes the characteristics of the surface, that licking cannot occur. It may be associated with changes in. surface tension, or surface electrical conductivity, or the prevention of static electricity. In the latter case, the surface active agent oriented at the surface of the cot may prevent the fibres coming into intimate contact with the roller cot material. Whatever the mode of action, there is no doubt that the surface active agent incorporated in the synthetic rubber gives considerable resistance to licking with the associated advantages described above.

A fibre-contacting and especially a fibre-drafting ele-Y Butadiene-acrylic nitrile copolymer V 100 Sulphur 0.5 Zinc oxide 5 Surface active agent (Empilan A) 2O Carbon black 90 Accelerator 1.2

The above composition when vulcanised is of 60 Shore hardness and in the form of a roller covering gave very satisfactory antialicking results when spinning wool. A similar composition not containing the surface active agent gave a high degree of licking and therefore was quite unusable as a drafting roller covering. n

Representative examples of fibre-drafting elements, a condenser tape and a condenser rubbing apron, Vare shown, somewhat diagrammatically, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective View of an unmounted roller cot of oil-resistant synthetic -rubber containing a surface active agent.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a double boss roller with two mounted roller cots containing a surface active agent, one of which is cut away to expose longitudinal sections of the cot.

Fig. 3' is a perspective view of an unmounted oil-resistant synthetic rubber draft apron with an intermediate textile fabric reinforcement.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing in the operative position a pair of draft aprons like that shown in Fig. 3, but on a smaller scale.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a condenser tape and two sets of condenser rubbing aprons. Y

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a fragment of a condenser tape. i

Fig. 7 is a perspective View of a condenser rubbing apron mounted on a pair of rollers. n

An unmounted roller covering or roller cot a composed of oil-resistant synthetic rubber containing a selected surface active agent is shown in Fig. l. Roller coverings a are mounted on metal spindles, a pair of which is shown in Fig. 2, each mounted on a separate boss b of a metal spindle c.

An unmounted draft apron d composed of oil-resistant synthetic rubber, with an intermediate textile fabric reinforcement e, the outer or bothlayers of which contain a selected surface active agent, is shown in Fig. 3. In use a pair of draft aprons d are, as shown in Fig. 4, each led around a separate roller f of a pair of opposed rollers and are extended to run in mutual contact along a portion of their travel, by each passing loosely around-the respective arm g of the device, called a tensor, which holds together the fibre-conveying portions of the two draft aprons d.

A conventional condenser tape and condenser rubbing apron system is shown dagrammatically in Fig. 5, wherein h is an endless condenser tape led around an upper roller z' and a lower roller i, and thence over diverting rollers k1, k2, k3 and l1, l2, l3 to deliver fibres to two pairs of condenser rubbing aprons m. As is well known, the condenser tapes h receive a wide web n of fibres from a carding machine (not shown) which they divide into strips which they deliver at o to the pairs of condenser rubbing aprons m.

A portion of a condenser tape h is shown in Fig. 6.

The condenser rubbing aprons m are mounted on pairs of rollers p, Fig. 7. The rollers p of the condenser rubbing aprons m of each pair are oppositely axially reciprocated whereby, in the known manner, they roll the strips of libres into rovings q, Fig. 5.

We claim:

1. A fibre-contacting element for use in processing textile fibres and composed of an oil-resistant synthetic rubber composition containing as a permanent ingredient, in the proportion of at least two parts by weight to one hundred parts by weight of synthetic rubber, a surface active agent having the property of imparting in said proportion an anti-licking character to the element and selected from the group of `surface active agents exhibiting said property and consisting of: salts of carboxylic acids, sulphuric esters and sulphonic acids; amine salts and quaternary ammonium compounds; and reaction products of phenols, alcohols and higher fatty acids respectively with ethylene and propylene oxides; all the foregoing containing long-chain hydrophobic molecular groups.

2. A fibre-contacting element in accordance with claim 1, in which the surface active agent ingredient is present in the proportion of the order of twenty parts by weight to one hundred parts by weight of synthetic rubber.

3. A nbre-contacting element for use in processing textile iibres and composed of an oil-resistant synthetic rub ber composition containing as a permanent ingredient, in the proportion of at least two parts by weight to one hundred parts by weight of synthetic rubber, a recognised textile fibre dressing material which is an organic surface active agent containing long-chain hydrophobic mo lecular groups and imparts in said proportion an antilicking character to the element.

4. A fibre-contacting element in accordance with claim 3, in which the surface active agent ingredient is present in the proportion of the order of twenty parts by weight to one hundred parts by weight of synthetic rubber.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,304,656 Rockof Dec. 8, 1942 2,373,876 Cutler Apr. 17, 1945 2,403,964 Bannon July 16, 1946 2,450,409 Baymiller Oct. 5, 1948 2,450,410 Baymiller Oct. 5, 1948 2,512,697 Te Grotenhuis June 27, 1950 Notieo of `Adw'ferlsse Decision in Interference v In Interference No. 88,215, involving Patent No. 2,729,860, M. Belkin and D. G. Turner, Fibre-contactin elements used in processing textile fibres, parrtcularly in spinning, nel ju gment adverse to the patient/ees wes rendered May 28, 1957, es bo claims 3 end 4.

[Oficial Gazette .7u/ne 25, 1957.1 

1. A FIBRE-CONTACTING ELEMENT FOR USE IN PROCESSING TEXTILE FIBRES AND COMPOSED OF AN OIL-RESISTANT SYSTHENIC RUBBER COMPOSITION CONTAINING AS A PERMANENT INGREDIENT, IN THE PROPORTION OF AT LEAST TWO PARTS BY WEIGHT TO ONE HUNDRED PARTS BY WEIHGT OF SYNTHETIC RUBBER, A SURFACE ACTIVE AGENT HAVING THE PROPERTY OF IMPARTING IN SAID PROPORTION AN ANTI-LICKING CHARACTER TO THE ELEMENT AND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP OF SURFACE ACTIVE AGENTS EXHIBITING SAID PROPERTY AND CONSISTING OF: SALTS OF CARBOXYLIC ACIDS, SULPHURIC ESTERS AND SULPHONIC ACIDS; AMINE SALTS AND QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS; AND REACTION PRODUCTS OF PHENOLS, ALCOHOLS AND HIGHER FATTY ACIDS RESPECTIVELY WITH ETHYLENE AND PROPYLENE OXIDES; ALL THE FOREGOING CONTAINING LONG-CHAIN HYDROPHOBIC MOLECULAR GROUPS. 